Quartier Chinois / Chinatown

Well I will start off by saying I’m from NY. We have a real Chinatown and a mini one (Flushing) and our «mini» one still trumps this Chinatown. But I might be bias here…
I will say this Chinatown has a few photo ops at the sun yet Sen Area and the gates otherwise you will find stores that sell random stuff that you don’t need and Chinese bakeries, a chained bubble tea place, chain hot pot place and a few dimsum restaurants. I wouldn’t make it a day event or even an hour event for this place maybe just route your destinations through it so you can see it… But really imo there is nothing special to be found here except the sun yet Sen place.
Sorry!

While walking through Montréal we found ourselves in Chinatown which was a pleasant surprise. Since we were new to the city we didn’t know what to expect, but this Chinatown had all the basics.
We ended up stopping at a few different bakeries in the village and enjoyed walking past a few of their shops and restaurants. The only issue we had was that we arrived later in the evening when some of the shops were closed, but overall we enjoyed the stores were were able to visit.
One tip, parking can be a bit tough so take a bus or train if you can!

Two Unilocal entries for the Chinatown in Montréal. Here is my review from the other entry:
Our hotel was located next door to Montréal’s Chinatown. I was surprised to see how small this city’s Chinatown is because Montréal is a very large city.
We were here almost every day of our stay in Montréal. Tried a few bakeries. Patisserie Harmonie was our absolute favorite! Some shops are available for purchasing some exotic fruits. Ate at a Dim Sum place, but was not impressed.
I would not go out of my way to visit this Chinatown. Only if we stay at the Holiday Inn next door will we be visiting Quartier Chinois Montréal again.

if you’ve never set foot in a chinatown before, this one may be the best thing ever but for a local, this is pretty craptastic! worse if you’ve visited other bigger and better chinatowns.
it does get lively during chinese new year celebration but other than that, it feels dead. sure, its buzzing with tourists and locals during the day but its just traffic. noisy traffic.
as for stores and restaurants, depending on what you’re looking, its either fucking stupid cheap or my wallet is safe thank you very much.
how many phở joints and bubble tea places do one need? apparently, a lot. i’ve never seen so much of them in a block radius than here.
but times seem to be changing now with new entries that bring a different feel to the neighborhood by offering something than what we’re used to.

Really great Chinatown, Canadian style! I like how there are pedestrian only streets unlike the one in NYC.

It’s small. It’s full of tourists, and as such doesn’t really feel alive. It closes up at 10pm. Some of the restaurants say they’re open until 11, but walk in after 10 and you’ll be told that the kitchen is closed, and out you go. I don’t know what sort of bylaws Montréal has going, but if a China Town isn’t even open until midnight (or say, 4am) I don’t know what’s going on.
Take a picture of the gate, and then be on your way. Maybe try the Dragon Beard’s candy, just for a lark.

Petit quartier chinois dans une grande ville mais très mignon.
Je pense que c’est le premier quartier chinois que j’ai visité.
On sent vraiment la différence dès qu’on traverse la porte/​gate, tout est écrit en chinois même le nom des rues ce qui est surprenant quand on né sait pas à quoi s’attendre.
Bien que ma visite date d’il y a très longtemps j’étais surprise par la quantité de petits commerces sur la rue principale; notez que le Chinatown de San Francisco regorge de magasins de souvenirs pour touristes alors que celui-​ci est très authentique.
Mais bon traffic jam, il faut y aller à pieds, vous allez plus passez votre temps à klaxonner que de circuler.
A revisiter, si j’ai la chance de revenir à Montréal.

Unfortunately this is a quick review. I didn’t get to spend as much time here as I had wanted to besides walking through it twice on my way back to the hotel. Both times I was impressed, however, with the selection of stores and the diversity of the neighborhood.
I saw a little tea place that I really want to try and is definitely on my list for next time…